Strike Witches: Awakening
by Lovus Eternius
Summary: Strike Witches Awakening is a Romantic Adventure Fanfiction depicting young Kayde of the 1st Special Assault Echelon who works in conjunction with Major Sakamoto and the 501st Joint Fighter Wing to fight back against the ultimate threat that is the Neuroi.
1. Part 1

For some time they were known as Kaii.

Taking the form of great beasts of legendary size. The Neuroi are a form of Kaii and while the neuroi are a seemingly new threat, the kaii have been around for centuries.

They have been reshaping our world as the apex predators. Naturally we of humanity were their enemies. That said, nobody knows where magical power we used to fight them originated from, most take it for granted.

The abilities of my clan were forged in bloody destructive combat with the Kaii. For centuries we fought and for centuries we honed our hatred of the bloodthirsty fiends that have slain countless members of our clan and of humanity itself. We view the kaii as a scourge, a blight of unholy fire and death.

And it will be my clan that snuffs it out.

Our uniqueness originates from dark a ritual, a witch who used the power within the core of a defeated kaii to resuscitate her dead son. While her act of desperation was through pure love for her child it twisted his body in ways that she could not have anticipated and in his pain, hatred, and confusion. He created a massive blast of magical energy that scorched everything nearby. Killing the remnants of his clan who were battered, beaten down to the brink and shaken to their cores by the death of the clan leader, and the prodigal son who then proceeded to take his place.

Blaming the corruption of the kaii and the weakness of those who were killed by the blast of power. His power and hatred of the kaii only grew and he instilled the hatred in those who would be his successors.

In any event, through our unique power that he gained from this dark ritual known only as DEVOURING. He gained the powers of those nearby. Eating their energy like the kaii ate land, ground and minerals for energy even the fallen bodies and white shimmering shards of energy of the slain kaii were not safe from his devouring energy.

Or so that is the legend that we were told when we were kids.

Fast forward about five centuries and it is the year 1944 and I'm sitting next to Major Sakamoto Mio, a so-called War Hero and slayer of a respectable amount of neuroi.

She sits there in a black car looking at the dossier of a potential Strike Witch candidate, our most promising in fact. Yoshika Miyafuji. Her family apparently has a high magical potential and is known for their longer-than-average magical lifespan.

This potential strike witch is an interesting case. She has high magical ability but a very stern hatred for violence and war. Sakamoto seems oblivious to that.

"She doesn't really seem all that remarkable." I murmured through a sigh. I then glance at Sakamoto in the black car, uncovered top. We're parked on a road a distance from her as she rides on the back of some type of tractor pulling a small wagon.

"Yes… Yoshika Miyafuji, her athletic ability is average, her academic ability is average and the only place she seems to really accel at it—"

"Cooking." I finished her sentence and let out a deep breath.

"Even so, how do you intend to convince her to join?"

As I finished my sentence and looked through my binoculars again I noticed that the old man swerved off road and turned violently to avoid a raccoon, bear-like creature. The girls in the back were thrown from the vehicle which couldn't have been travelling faster than thirty kilometers per hour. One of them was thrown down the steep incline that the man was driving along and while I couldn't see from here. I knew she would not escape that unscathed.

"Not good." I murmured and ran to the car.

By the time Sakamoto had noticed the trouble I was in the driver's seat and turned the key, shifted her into gear and floored it to our potential candidate. Spinning wheels and kicking dust. The only obvious sign of detectable emotion.

A bright glow was emitted from the area as we neared the wrecked vehicle. I slammed on the brakes. The tractor was beginning to smoke, and Sakamoto ran down to the girls. I took the opportunity to turn the ignition off so it didn't erupt into flames and then ran down to help her.

I turned and noticed Sakamoto had stopped. She merely stood in awe of her power. But we both came to a sudden realization, Miyafuji lacked control and was panicking from the sight of her friend's blood. I didn't exactly know the first thing about that kind of power, and healing magic was known to simply directly transfer magical power to me and enhance my inherent regeneration.

"Help her." I gave Sakamoto a nudge and she immediately went running to her side, while I stayed outside of her spell radius.

It seemed that Yoshika's friend Michiko was injured during her fall out of the wagon, a small rock outcropping the way down the steep incline. was sharp and appeared bloodied. But it was small and the depth of her puncture wound was likely insignificant. Still, she was losing a lot of blood and required medical attention. With a flick of my wrist I destroyed the outcropping of stone so that the same thing wouldn't happen twice.

Sakamoto gave me a look, and Miyafuji's gaze met mine for an instant. She returned focus on her friend and her dome of magic grew larger, in response I stepped back.

Miyafuji collapsed her magical power depleted.

But Sakamoto caught her before she fell on her friend. "She's drained all of her magical power but the wound of her friend has closed. They're both unconscious!"

I ran down to help her, picking up her friend with care. The blood has coagulated, and the healing process has started but it would need a few final touches from additional healing magic.

"Her guardians at the Miyafuji Clinic." Is all I said as we loaded them into the car. I turned to the old man. "Get in."

"Is Michiko, going to be alright? I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault." I stated bluntly, it's probably the thing he wanted to hear most. Though we confirmed that Miyafuji does indeed have what it takes to become a Strike Witch. Thanks to this man's heinous driving skills.

Sakamoto slammed the vehicle into gear and I held Michiko in my arms, her legs dangled over the top of the car door and we ripped through the forest and along the road. Casting huge dust plumes behind us.

Maybe the man's driving skills weren't so bad after all, compared to Sakamoto's anyway. After many twists, turns, and drifts around the sides of curbs leaving streaks of black behind to mark our path we pulled up in front of the clinic. Sakamoto slammed her foot on the breaks, and we came to an abrupt stop. Nearly lost the girl in my arms to something far worse than a mere flesh wound despite my tight grip on her body.

Moving as a man with a purpose I kicked the cardoor out and rushed to the front of the clinic with the worried expressions of Miyafuji's grandmother and mother to greet me. "Her friend's hurt, we found them along the road. Involved in a mobile vehicle accident."

They both nodded in unison and stepped aside for me to take her to the operating table. Which I did, with due haste.

"Thank you, we'll take it from here."

"I nodded with a deep sigh and looked on as Yoshika was laid to rest in on the floor with a sheet as a blanket."

I made way to the door and the old man was breathing heavily. "Sir, don't worry. She's in good hands. And you have nothing to blame yourself for, it was an accident. Nothing more than that. She'll be fine and it'll be like nothing ever happened." I spoke with a smile, to put his heart and mind at ease.

"Oh… Michiko…" He murmured and slowly shuffled past me to gaze upon the unconscious body of his grand daughter who was being healed by Miyafuji Sayaka, who was Yoshika's mother.

"Yamakawa-san." The grandmother, Akimoto Yoshika approached him and set a hand on his shoulder. "Your granddaughter will be fine, the wound itself was superficial. It didn't do any serious or permanent damage. We'll keep her here to let her rest and remove any potential scarring."

"Ahh… thank goodness…" He murmured and seemed to be out of it. Most likely the fatigue of being in a wreck combined with the mental strain of seeing his granddaughter hurt.

"Kayde, drive the man home and meet me back here."

I nodded in reply, then sank into the driver's seat of the vehicle. The old farmer got into the passenger seat and with that I began to drive him home. He directed me and the trip took a little longer than I expected. Dusk turned to night and he offered quick thanks as he got out and walked inside his home.

I turned around and headed back the way I came. The way to the clinic was straightforward. I noticed the steering wheel started to glow a dim red. "Eyes are adjusting to the dark…"

Indeed, my eyes glowed in the dark.

With a sigh I came to a stop in front of the clinic and turned the engine off. Since I couldn't go inside unless I was fully intending on revealing my glowing eyes, I moved to the passenger seat and closed my eyes. Then laid my head against the back of the seat.

The feeling in my body began to fade.

I fell asleep. Then roused from it by the voice of Sakamoto.

"Tired?" She asked bluntly.

"The members of my clan do not get tired or sleep, we merely close our eyes and meditate for extended periods of time."

"That so?"

I slowly opened my eyes and the world was moving, and for some reason Sakamoto was looking down at me.

"Wh-what the hell?!" I threw myself out of her arms and wiped the trail of saliva from the side of my mouth with the back of my sleeve. To think I'd drool in my sleep. Truly embarrassing.

"I see you're finally awake." She said with laughter and hit me on the shoulder.

"I told you. It's dangerous for witches or those with magical abilities to touch me… it's possible that I might absorb all the power you have and cause harm." I explained to her once again, hoping that it would get through to her this time.

"Yes… yes… but has that ever actually happened?" She acknowledged then asked dismissively.

I yawned and let out a deep sigh. She clearly didn't care or had full faith in my ability to control my power. That was… reassuring. I just hoped that she'd take responsibility if she got hurt.

"Oh yes, I spoke to Miyafuji before I left…"

"And what did she say of becoming a Strike Witch?"

"She said no, but I know she'll come around. Call it intuition."

"So we're relying on intuition to recruit our most promising candidate. At our final stop."

"By the way… you didn't mention that your eyes glow in the dark."

I nodded slightly. "It didn't seem like a detail worth mentioning. They also let me see in the dark, although everything is red."

"Interesting. The Night Witches could use some backup on their patrols, I'll keep that in mind."

"You make it sound like I agreed to pilot a Striker Unit."

"Well, your sister seemed confident that you would join."

"You don't seem to understand a fundamental flaw in that reasoning, can I pilot a Striker Unit? Will it fly? Is it compatible with my power?"

"We won't know until we try."

"And if it doesn't work?"

"Then we make something that is compatible with your power."

I slowly exhaled from my nose. "And until that happens you intend to continue dragging me around to absorb debris energy of destroyed neuroi to gradually build my power?"

"Yes." She said with a grin.

"And you want me to keep investing the power absorbed from those neuroi into bullets that you use in your weapons?"

"Yes." Her grin did not fade.

For some reason. I was now hoping that I could fly a striker unit so that I could personally destroy the neuroi and directly absorb the core instead of being force into an auxiliary role against my natural sworn enemy. Nothing was more humiliating than being unable to fight, only helping others do it despite having the strongest hatred and concern inducing bloodlust.

"What if she decides not to join at all?"

She thought for a moment. "If it comes to that I'll leave it in your hands."

"I might not be as nice as you but I will get results."

I decided to put an end to this conversation and took in my surroundings. Much to my chagrin, we were in Sakamoto's personal quarters.

As the men and women of the fleet were segregated as standard protocol. This was a gross violation of military regulations. "Is there a reason we're in your quarters?" I asked her.

"It didn't seem right to leave you in the men's barracks with all of them gawking at you as I carried you in my arms throughout the base."

True humiliation has eluded me all these years, up until this very moment.

"Your cheeks are bright red, ha ha ha ha!" She erupted into laughter.

"I'll remember this… and I'll never forgive you for it." I laid back on the bed and rolled over, closing my eyes and pulled the blanket over my head.

" _Idiot_." I murmured under my breath.

Consciousness faded, and despite all my paranoia of the neuroi and the humiliation that Sakamoto brought me this night. I felt at ease.

For the first time in too long.


	2. Part 2

Eyes groggy, sun too bright.

Didn't want to wake up.

The beams of sunlight choking what was left of my desire to remain among the living.

"Good Morning!" She ripped the curtains open without mercy, and the burning sunlight forced my eyes closed and even through eyelids squeezed shut the pain of unrelenting sunlight was unbearable. I rolled the opposite way and frantically tried to cover my head with the blanket for relief.

She tore the blanket from the bed and the cold morning air sent shivers down my spine. Finally after a minute or so my eyes began to adjust to the sunlight and the grogginess I had drained from my body.

"So… what's the reason?"

"The Akagi is moving out, get your gear and meet me in the hangar."

"Which hangar?" I asked.

"You know which hangar." She said with a smirk.

She handed me a package, a brown large envelope. I peeled the top back and looked inside. Clothes.

"What is this for?"

"Your official 501st Joint Fighter Wing Uniform."

I slowly turned my gaze to her. "You fully understand that I'm not a witch and that I'm male right?"

"Mm!" She nodded her head quickly and went to go find Yoshika Miyafuji, I assumed. Opening the door to the barracks and leaving me to get changed.

Removing the contents from the package and setting the contents mostly undisturbed on the surface of the bed. The ones that stood out the most to me were a note, and a one piece, black. Karlsland Black.

 _Major Mio Sakamoto personally requested a prototype outfit be designed for a specific individual of the male gender who may have the ability to pilot a Striker Unit._

 _Lack of Materials and Reference aside I was able to complete this request with due haste._

 _It was designed in the style of Karlsland and functions as a one piece and a flight uniform._

 _Enjoy._

\- _Ursula_

"En-enjoy?" I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath. I picked up the one piece with both hands and rose it in front of me. Designed by a Karlsland scientist of all things. A Patent Leather flight suit. Shiny. New. Black. Revealing.

The final pieces were a karlsland trench coat modified so that it wouldn't interfere with the props of a striker unit and the front cut out to put my legs on exhibition. The only reason for the coat existing was the block wind against my upper body it seemed. The final piece was a hat.

My power was entirely capable of fortifying my body, but I was thankful for the semblance of decency it brought. So life wasn't all bad.

I slid my clothes off and got into the new uniform without a moment's hesitation and took my time exiting the room to find the hangar.

The walk turned from nonchalant and non-embarrassing to one of the most painfully indignant experiences of my life. I was met by various whistles, winks, and laughter from passing crewmen.

To which I answered by lowering my gaze to the floor, closing my eyes and continuing the journey of humiliation to the hangar. I stood there for what felt like hours just thinking about it. Face flushed red, hot with embarrassment. It felt like steam might start coming off my face.

"I didn't expect there to be a bulge like that." Sakamoto said thoughtfully.

Gritting my teeth in reply but managing to control my facial expression to deny her the joy and pleasure of seeing me flustered.

"So." I began and took in a deep, extra long breath of air before speaking. "Care to tell me why I'm in this, and what we're doing here?"

"Before that. I'd like you to go and convince Yoshika Miyafuji to come along with us."

A flash of anger, my eyes shot open and a pulse of my power erupted from my body. Knocking her back a single step. Sometimes my emotions get the better of me. Since my power originates from hatred, I try to keep a lid on my negative emotions, which usually just ends up with blasts of involuntary energy pulsing from my body in all directions.

As I opened my eyes I saw a flash of fear overtake her expression, but it was gone as quick as my anger.

"Understood. I'll see it done. Sorry you had to see that." I answered her then apologized. I brushed past her.

She replied by grabbing the arm of my sleeve.

"Don't hurt her…"

I grimaced, I'd think that you'd think more of me Major.

"No promises." Was how I replied to that request.

"You know what I mean." She stated with a stern tone in her voice in reply.

"Again, hearts and minds aren't my strong suit. I'll show up in this outfit and we'll have a compelling and serious conversation about why she should join us. She's probably curious about my power anyway."

"Knowing her clumsiness, I wouldn't be surprised if she forgot about it entirely. Then again, she was pretty focused on saving her friend."

"Going now." I tugged my arm from her grasp and turn to look at her. She seemed mirthful again. That was good.

The embarrassment began to subside as I made my way off the carrier. The clothing was beginning to feel normal, if not somewhat breezy. Rather the front cut out than the back.

Time to find Yoshika. Made my way to the motor pool where I parked the car. It was located in a large compound that housed various types of small lightly armored automobiles and buildings. There was a multitude of cars available of the military variant for driving from locale to locale and need to go places. These cars were for officers only, high level officers.

To get one of these cars you had to speak to a quartermaster at the armory, which was in a large building next to the motor pool. The quartermasters were basically members of the logistics companies that handled the paperwork and supplies of military operations. Right now, most of them were busy loading supplies into containers which were being loaded on the Akagi.

 _Hmm_ …

Scanned the complex for the Captain, the man in charge. Didn't take long for me to spot him, the delicious looking head of short peach colored hair of a small teen aged sixteen. He stood a whole head shorter than me. His limbs were slender and he was barking orders which were carried out with due haste. One would wonder how he managed to garner so much respect.

He was Kurojima Momo. For somebody with such a high rank he didn't seem to have the age to match. Yet they all followed orders without question. Perhaps this bright smile and illustrious set of teeth were to blame. Perhaps the beaming smile was nothing more than a façade.

"Momo-chan!" I called out to him.

He pretended not to notice.

"MOMO-CHAN!" I shouted to him. Heads turns my direction, and they started snickering as they walked and worked.

"Momo-!" I elongated his name this time and his hands and arms visibly shook as he turned around.

"WHAT DO YOU W-!?" He laid his eyes on me and his eyebrow twitched as he struggled to stay mad.

He covered his mouth with one of his hands and I could hear him even over the voices of working personnel, power tools and running engines. He was snickering. Well, trying not to.

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "What are you wearing?" Was all he asked.

"This is my official Striker uniform."

"Striker?!" He exclaimed. "Does that mean that you can actually pilot one?!" He looked excited, his smile returned.

"Actually… I was about to test that out, but the Major sent me to convince candidate Strike Witches Candidate Miyafuji before we did."

He looked disappointed, and didn't bother to hide it.

"Eh-! Why didn't she just test you before sending you. We don't leave for another six hours."

"Time is money." I stated.

He sighed, "I can relate to that." He looked around at the personnel around the compound. "So what did you come find me for? You know me well enough that my time can't be wasted with small talk."

I pretended to look hurt.

"I didn't mean it like that. I was saying you look smart… when you're not wearing that atrocious outfit."

"Thanks." I pinched the bridge of my nose.

 _"A man who demands respect… the Captain shows no mercy – not even to outsiders who aren't working for him."_

The voices of those around us began to grow louder, he probably didn't hear them. Very noticeable to me though, and I began to understand why he was regarded as the quartermaster division's very own glorious leader. He seemed to be of a high-status and possessed great aptitude and a natural likeability with a clumsiness with words that came across as passive aggressiveness.

"I need keys for one of the black Toyota ABRs. Official Military business." I turned to look at the vehicles.

"Sign." He ordered, and when I looked back at him he was holding out a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other.

I took the pen, wrote down my name, date and official military rank.

"Captain, hm?" He asked. "Same rank as me now." He said with a smile. "Key is still in the ignition of the one you used last night which is reserved by her. Since you're on an errand for her and she's on board the ship taking care of your striker. You can take it."

"Thanks." I bowed my head slightly and left the conversation at that.

Immediately ran over to the car. Should be obvious based on the one that has a key in the ignition. Yeah very obvious. It wasn't cleaned yet so it was the dirtiest one there, covered by dust on the sides, because of how fast we were going on the dirt road. Mounted up and pressed down on the clutch then turned the key and she thrummed to life.

"Okay… looks like I remember how to drive." I murmured, first time was yesterday. Is starting a vehicle really driving though?

Without a second thought, I got moving. Easing on the throttle and made my way to the checkpoint out of the base, slowly and avoiding collisions with local military personnel. Made it to the bar without incident and I received a nod and a hand gesture waving me forward as a man rose the bar manually.

Ultimately driving forward, I took my time and headed to the Miyafuji clinic.

Took in the sights on the way there, a small town. Lots of terrain and beauty to see, people of all ages stopping to take a glance at my Karlsland gear and hat a car isn't commonplace material as well. They waved, as I was in fact foreign and nodded their heads with smiles. That respect for my service would likely be withheld if they saw the lower half of my body.

Time seemed to pass a little too fast, and the drive went by quickly. I came upon the Miyafuji clinic and pulled to a stop out front and shut the car down. Her mother Sayaka met me at the door.

She obviously knew that it was the military again. Her hair was tied back and she was already wearing her labcoat. A reluctant and forced smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.

"I would like to speak with Yoshika ma'am."

"She isn't home, she started running after Major Sakamoto left." Sayaka spoke with a somewhat exasperated but patient tone in here voice.

"You wouldn't happen to have a direction?"

She pointed in the direction of the dirt road that we had rushed Michiko down. Annoying. Looks like this might take nearly six hours after all.

"Ah, thanks. Sorry!" I said with a nod then got back in the car and drove with more vigor.

The twists and turns were familiar, and I'd most likely have to drive awhile. Though I had a feeling I knew where she was.

And I was right. Few minutes passed before I came to a full stop beside Yoshika at the side of the road, looking on in the direction of the port.

"Yoshika Miyafuji." I announced my presence.

She noticed, her head turned slightly then she looked back to where he gaze was originally. "Who are you really?"

"Classified Military Information." Was my final answer.

"I saw your power." She nodded at the rock outcropping that I took the liberty to destroy. Now that I think on it, there was no real need for me to do that, and it represented a significant security breach.

"Like I said, that's Classified Military Information."

"Yeah, just like the letter I got in the mail stating that my father's cause of death was Classified Military Information!" She rose her voice and turned to me, her face emboldened with anger, which turned to sadness. Both are familiar and relatable emotions. "He was declared dead on my Birth Day you know…"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "My entire family was killed by Neuroi. I respected your father. His accomplishments and everything he did for humanity. And you turn your back on all that, because he died on your birthday!?" I exclaimed, in disbelief.

"No! Also… I'm sorry to hear that your family was killed." She muttered. "But I hate war, and I don't want to have any part of it!"

"War is what the Neuroi want and they won't stop until every last one of us is dead, your father did everything in his power to protect the world, to protect everyone and his final words to me were-!"

"—Even so… war took him away and I'll never join you!" She shouted.

"War didn't take him away!" I returned her anger with anger, I could feel it, heartbeats thumping resounding. Power resonating from my body. "I took him away!"

They grew in power, becoming faster.

"You want to know what happened to Ichirou Miyafuji!?" I clenched a fist and my voice turned to a low growl, "To humanity's best hope against the Neuroi?!"

Faster, even more powerful.

 ** _Badump, badump, badump._**

Heartbeat became faster, my teeth became fanged and I felt them with my tongue, my familiar came forward… fighting me for control. A rogue beast.

"I killed him!"


End file.
